DISNEY ATTRACTIONS THAT WERE NEVER BUILT

I spent my New Year’s Eve at home surfing the internet looking for new and informative topics for the blog (yes, I know – exciting life!). I found a great article listing all sorts of attractions that Disney started, planned, re-imagined – that never came to be – and thought I would share the list with you. We will never know why these plans never made it to completion. I found some fascinating and wished they could have been seen – others, well…thank goodness they scrapped that idea!

Disneyland Resort Hotel – A luxurious 800 room complex to be constructed in the style of San Diego’s Hotel del Coronado, inspired by Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Walt Disney World

Lilliputian Land (Disneyland) – a land that was to be located north of Tomorrowland/east of Fantasyland. Everything would have been constructed on a greatly reduced scale

Mythica (Disneyland) – A land inspired by Greek and Roman myths and legends

Tomorrowland 2055 (Disneyland) – An update and makeover of Tomorrowland with a more Extraterrestrial theme, (2055 is the centennial of Disneyland)

“Big City USA” (Disneyland)- A New York-themed area where Mickey’s Toontown now sits; it was to have featured a big Broadway-style theater that presented live stage shows every day

Costa Rica Pavilion in EPCOT

Israel Pavilion in EPCOT – Advertised on billboards when EPCOT opened, this would have recreated ancient Jerusalem with a courtyard stage and open-air restaurant. It remained un-built because of budget problems and security issues regarding the state of Israel

Spain Pavilion in EPCOT – Also advertised on billboards circa 1986, this pavilion would have featured a boat ride similar to Mexico, with a design blending elements of Barcelona and Madrid. Also planned were a film on Spain’s history and a restaurant

United Arab Emirates Pavilion in EPCOT – This pavilion would have paid tribute to the Middle East with a magic carpet ride attraction and a show focusing on how the Middle East paved the way for various ways of life and science

Venezuela Pavilion in EPCOT – This pavilion would have included a waterfall, a high-rise built into a cliff, and an aerial tram ride

Beastly Kingdom – A “myths and legends”-themed land planned for Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It was replaced by Camp Minnie-Mickey due to budget cuts. Much of the land designated for use by Beastly Kingdom will now be used for the forthcoming Avatar area

Toon Town in Hong Kong Disneyland – A much more advanced version than its sisters in the other Disney parks. This area would have featured a roller coaster, an animatronic show, character houses, and character meet-and-greets

Atlantis Expedition (Disneyland) – A re-theming of the Submarine Voyage in Tomorrowland at Disneyland, in which guests would have been able to use a mechanical arm that extended out into the water from their submarine window to grab at gold coins & gems lining the sea floor. The box-office failure of the 2001 animated film Atlantis: The Lost Empire caused this planned revamp to be scrapped

Candy Mountain (Disneyland) – An addition to the Casey Jr. Train Ride in Fantasyland, it was supposed to be a mountain, that looked like it was made out of rock candy (and other various types of candy, such as licorice, lollipops, and candy canes), with a glossy, translucent appearance. The planned Rainbow Road To Oz attraction, was supposed to go underneath the mountain, and the ride would be inside

Geyser Mountain (Disneyland) – A Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror-style ride to be built in Frontierland. Guests riding in a huge drilling machine would be caught in a massive geyser and thrown into the air

Herbie The Love Bug Ride (Disneyland) – An attraction conceived in 1976, to be placed in Fantasyland, it would take guests through scenes from the first two Herbie the Love Bug movies, The Love Bug and Herbie Rides Again,(in mini Herbies) such as Herbie driving up the Golden Gate Bridge, or the famous scene where Herbie skips across water. At the end of the ride, the mini Herbie ride vehicle would split in half (like in the movie). It was cancelled for unknown reasons

Fireworks Factory (Disneyland) – An interactive shooter ride designed for Discovery Bay, housed inside a fireworks factory, where guests would shoot at skyrockets, pinwheels and other fireworks. A much smaller version was placed in Mickey’s Toontown

The Enchanted Snow Palace (Disneyland) – A dark ride that was planned for Fantasyland at Disneyland. It was designed as a boat ride on a river of melting ice, past naturalistic scenes of Arctic wildlife, beneath a display of the Northern Lights, and into the realm of the Snow Queen, a fantastical land populated by frost fairies and snow giants. Although eventually scrapped, extensive concept art still exists for this attraction

Lightkeepers (Disneyland) – A nighttime pageant that was planned for “Tomorrowland 2055“. The show would have been about an entire race of god-like alien creatures that created light. They were alleged to come from a far-off mythical galaxy, where light was the source of everything. Created as a possible Main Street Electrical Parade replacement, the idea eventually inspired the short-lived Light Magic nighttime parade

Duck Bumps (Disneyland) – A bumper boat ride planned for Fantasyland

The Museum of the Weird (Disneyland) – A planned attraction that featured many strange things, such as a chair that sat up and talked. It was cancelled because it was so strange and creepy, and it kept Walt Disney from being able to sleep one night. The planned attraction, and many of its designs were taken and incorporated into the popular attraction The Haunted Mansion

The Old Ferris Mill (Disneyland) – A ferris wheel ride next to Duck Bumps which would take guests twirling around on a windmill. The concept might have been based on the 1937 Silly Symphonies cartoon The Old Mill

Dumbo’s Circusland (Disneyland) – A sub-area of Fantasyland where Dumbo and Casey Jr. would have been relocated. The idea eventually inspired the Storybook Circus subarea of the Fantasyland expansion at the Magic Kingdom in Florida

Circus Hot Air Balloons (Disneyland)

Dumbo’s Circus (Disneyland) – A nutty adventure underneath the big top with Dumbo leading the way

Mickey’s Madhouse (Disneyland) – A funhouse adventure

The Great Movie Ride (Disneyland) – A clone was planned for Hollywood Pictures Backlot

Enhanced DINOSAUR (Animal Kingdom WDW) – DINOSAUR was originally planned to have Ankylosaurus-shaped vehicles that would have traveled through prehistoric swamps and jungles. Additional scenes would feature feasting Tyrannosaurs, volcanic eruptions, high speeds, deinonychus attacks, and more

Tarzan Rainforest Roller Coaster (Animal Kingdom WDW) – A Tarzan-themed inverted coaster that would be informative about the rainforest and all plants and animals that inhabit it

The Tree of Life Carousel (Animal Kingdom WDW) – Instead of The Tree of Life, this double-decker carousel would have been the park’s iconic symbol

The Great Muppet Movie Ride (Hollywood Studios WDW) – A “misguided” tour through movie history, given Muppet-style. The ride could be part of a planned Disney’s The Muppets themed area called Muppet Studios

The Chinese Theater’s Great Disney Movie Villain Ride (Hollywood Studios WDW) – A 3D adventure where visitors would have been menaced by three-dimensional recreations of Disney’s most famous fiends before the forces of good finally came to their rescue. The ride would have replaced The Great Movie Ride

Benny the Cab Ride (Hollywood Studios WDW) – Guests would go on an adventure with Benny the Cab from Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Simulated Bullet Train Ride (EPCOT) – A unique variation on Disney’s CircleVision 360 show. Guests would have found themselves standing aboard a vibrating recreation of the passenger compartment of a Japanese bullet train. Looking out through the oversized faux windows in this passenger car, they would have been treated to a high-speed travelogue as some of Japan’s most beautiful scenery whizzed by the windows. The attraction was planned for the Japan Pavilion at Epcot

Godzilla Bullet Train Ride (EPCOT) – Similar to the Bullet Train idea, in this case having the bullet train run afoul of Godzilla in Tokyo Bay, followed by a race to safety. This ride would be planned for the Japan Pavilion at Epcot

Rhine River Cruise (EPCOT) – A cruise down Germany’s most famous rivers, including the Rhine, the Tauber, the Ruhr and the Isar. Detailed miniatures of famous landmarks would also be seen, including one of the Cologne Cathedral. The ride entrance and the building that would have housed it are still visible at the Germany pavilion

Time Racers (EPCOT) – A high-tech thrill ride about fast-forwarding through history that was to replace Spaceship Earth

Jr. Autopia (EPCOT) – The Disneyland attraction would be added next to the new Test Track for a new Transportation pavilion. The concept emerged in response to Test Track’s high rider height requirements

Thames River Ride (EPCOT) – Designed as part of the UK pavilion, this full-scale water ride would visit key London landmarks. Concept art from 1986 shows the Tower of London, Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament

WEDway People Mover (EPCOT) – When the Communicore (now Innoventions East and West) buildings were built, they were designed with a second level with very high ceilings. This was because a people mover system was to be installed on the second level

Nostromo – Magic Kingdom WDW) – The genesis of ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. Originally based on the film Alien and slated to star the film’s titular creature, the idea was scrapped because the source-material, a rated-R horror film, was deemed too frightening for the Magic Kingdom

Copperfield Magic Underground Restaurant (Hollywood Studios WDW) – Based around David Copperfield, the famous stage magician. It was also considered for Downtown Disney

Gonzo’s Pandemonium Pizza Parlor (Hollywood Studios WDW) – Muppet-themed restaurant; the Great Gonzo and Rizzo the Rat’s version of a pizza parlor

Which ones would you have liked to see….and which ones are you glad never made it?

Reader Interactions

Comments

I don’t normally reply to “Anonymous” comments but I’m confused by someone commenting on a post that is well over a year old (published in January of 2014) that clearly states in the introduction that the list was taken from an on-line search and the post linked back to the original source. Not sure what was expected.

That’s a great list Janice, thanks. I learned about quite a few new ones. This is something I researched quite heavily for my book, ‘The Disneylands That Never Were’. It covers many of those you list in detail.

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